“Doggy Breath” is Not Normal

The vast majority of the dogs of Morinville, and many of the cats, have breath would stop even the mile long train that goes through town at 3 am. The surprising thing about that is the fact that most owners that would say “Not MY dog!” or “That’s just normal dog breath.”

“Doggy breath” is not a normal thing, or dogs would be born with it. The pups we see at Morinville Vet Clinic come in with breath that smells of whatever they last ate or investigated (although, that can be nasty sometimes too!). The bad smell that comes from the mouth of a dog or a cat almost always comes from a build-up of plaque on the teeth, or an abscess under them. Both of these smells are the emissions of bacteria living and multiplying around the teeth. It smells like a landfill site because (just like a landfill site), it is the smell of something rotting. Obviously, rotting is not a good thing.

When the vets and technicians at Morinville Vet Clinic do a dental exam, it can be amazing how dirty and smelly some of the mouths are. Many owners are shocked at how bad the mouth looks, and want it dealt with immediately. What amazes the staff is that owners put up with a smell that clears the room, and not think something might be wrong.

Although pet owners talk about “doggy breath”, cats do get the same smell coming from their mouth. Perhaps, owners may not be as aware of the breath issue in cats because they do not lick their owners as much, or pant in their face. Even without these clues, owners who are petting their cats should be able to smell bad breath.

In upcoming blogs, we will describe not only what we do to clean up these stinky mouths, but also what you can do at home to keep them from getting stinky. After all—a clean mouth is a healthy mouth.

Written by Morinville Veterinary Clinic